The Sidekick Story
by Hematite9
Summary: Story told from Richard Grayson's perspective that explores the first Robin's origin story and combines it with the events based on Batman: Arkham Origins. It's really grounded in reality as I wanted to make this story feel as realistic as possible.


**THE ACROBAT**

The wind in my face, being suspended in the air, that moment when gravity kicks in, I knew them well. The excitement and adrenaline rush that comes with swinging from bar to bar was what I lived for. It was my second year performing with my family in the circus and we were considered the best trapeze acrobat act in the world so I had quite a legacy to upkeep. As the newest addition, I was determined to be the best in the world someday. Potentially being the star of the circus with my own team when I hit my prime. I could just imagine the "Dick Grayson presents…" acts that would amaze the crowd in awe even after my parents retired.

Right now though, I was just getting my feet wet and this performance in Gotham was going to have the largest crowd I had performed in front of. Although my parents tried to calm me down the best they could, my heart was pumping like crazy and I was nervous as hell. My mom and I climbed the ladder together since we were starting on the right side with my dad on the other. The plan was for dad to start and warm the crowd up, then for him to catch mom and have the two do their normal routine for a bit. Last, I was going to join in often being launched from one parent to the other and doing flips or tricks in midair before I was caught. I wasn't strong enough to catch a full grown adult yet so must of my action occurred in this way.

My dad had already started his piece and didn't miss a beat. Although I worked with him every day I was still in awe of how perfect and precise he was on everything. Sure I was capable of doing some advanced stuff, but not with the absolute consistency that he and mom could demonstrate. My mom told me some last words about being relaxed and doing things just as we practiced. Dad came swinging our way hanging by the back of his knees on the bar with his arms extended, my mom leapt into them and they he caught her just when he was still in the air, right before the gravity set in and started heading away from me. Right as they hit the lowest point in the descent, it happened.

Snap! One of the ropes had broke! I doubt my dad would have been able to hang on even if his hands were on the bar, but with the back of his knees instead, he slipped off with no chance at all. I watched them plummet and hit the floor like a meteor causing a loud thud. The whole crowd had a unified loud gasp and the whole world paused for that moment. Although denial and hope usually kick in when someone close is about to die, I knew instantly. Nobody could have survived that. I was never afraid of heights and the danger of what we did never bothered me because we _didn't_ make mistakes. The circus people that checked the equipment _didn't_ mistakes. I climbed the ladder down crying the whole way. I wanted to go faster but after seeing what I just saw, I was extra cautious. Later on in life I would have comrades die, sometimes accidental, sometimes murdered but nothing has ever made me as sick as this did. Nothing even compares. Not just because I was young. Not just because it was my parents. Those things were bad enough. I was sick because I knew the truth about what really just happened and felt I could have prevented it.

A few weeks ago, I just finished training for the routine with my family and stepped outside to get some fresh air. Although I had seen the numerous animals all the time I thought of each as my friend and made a note to check on them. I was 13 and still got very lost in my imagination at that time. I would check out all the acts and imagine myself doing all the cool things the other performers could do. Eventually I would run into Julie the other circus brat on the tour. She was two years younger and had a family that would tame tigers. There wasn't anyone else around our age so we became close and often spent much of our free time together.

On my way to go see her I was passing by Mr. Haley's trailer and overheard him having a heated argument with somebody. I never heard him so upset before. Mr. Haley yelled, "Get out! I run an honest business here, the nerve of you trying to swindle me! If you're not satisfied with the money you make go find a new job! Get the hell out and don't ever show your face again or I'll have you locked up for life you damn hoodlum!" The employee responded back "Fine! But you're going to regret this! Forget you and your whole damn freak show!" and stormed out of there.

I couldn't take my eyes off the disgruntled employee. He noticed and glared at me and exclaimed "What are you looking at?" as he kept walking. Mr. Haley didn't appreciate his behavior towards me and gave him some last few words. "Get off my property while you can still walk." Mr. Haley said with a cold calmness as he picked up the whip they use to tame the lions with. I was so accustomed to see him smiling and having such positive energy that it was really strange to see him so serious and upset.

Afterwards Mr. Haley asked that I kept this incident between us. He didn't want the acts to know what had happened and potentially feel alarmed or distracted. He explained it was an administration issue and the acts just need to focus on our upcoming performance in Boston and Gotham. I really wanted to tell Julie about it later that day but honored Mr. Haley's request to keep it a secret. It stayed in the back of my mind for a few days since I had never seen adults fight like that in real life, but after a while I was convinced it was over and didn't worry about it.

About two weeks went by and we were about to perform in front of one of our biggest crowds on tour in Gotham. An hour before our act, I made a trip to the restroom anxious about the upcoming performance. There was a backdoor located in that vicinity and I noticed someone walking in but he went the opposite direction from where most of the people backstage were. I found it a little odd and took a glance up. I was somewhat familiar with all the backstage employees but with this guy's back turned and at a distance, I wasn't sure who it was. The walk looked familiar and I tried to recall where I knew that walk from. I was back in the room backstage with everybody else when it hit me that it might have been the disgruntled employee from a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure if I was just being paranoid or if it really was him but I didn't want to say anything because Mr. Haley had assured me that it wasn't my concern and I shouldn't do anything that could divert the focus of the performers. If Mr. Haley himself was around I would have talked to him but instead I just dropped it and convinced myself it was probably nothing.

On my way down the ladder to see my parents' bodies, I felt so sick. I looked at the lifeless bodies with absolute shock that this really just happened and to me of all people. Different people from the circus were hugging me and trying to comfort me but the whole scene was a slow motion blur. I couldn't imagine life without them. It was reality now but it didn't seem real. Everyone kept referring to it as an accident, Mr. Haley included. When the cops got there I spoke up and told everybody that this was not an accident. Of course, everyone thought I was in denial and just being an irrational kid but I kept insisting. I told Mr. Haley that I saw the disgruntled employee backstage and Mr. Haley's eyes got big. He said, "Tony, tried to steal money from me but he wouldn't go as far as sabotaging an act." Despite saying this I could tell Mr. Haley gave what I said considerable thought. Maybe this was just a random accident but maybe I really did see this Tony guy backstage and he managed to cut or weaken the rope. It was worth looking into and he told the cops to suspect each possibility. Afterwards everyone in the circus gathered in a room and Mr. Haley gave a long talk about the tragedy and shared some of his favorite stories about my parents. He also assured that whether it be negligence or sabotage that either way we will get to the bottom of what happened tonight. The room was so solemn and completely quiet when he heard a knock on the door. A policeman introduced himself as Commissioner Gordon and informed us after their initial investigation of the rope it appeared to have been tampered with and this was officially a murder case. They wanted to bring multiple people in for questioning to piece together all the facts and determine my custody.

Gotham was such an old town, it looked more like Europe to me than the United States. It had its nice areas but also had a whole lot of bums and litter in others. At the Burnley precinct I answered tons of questions for hours. After a while I felt like I was just re-answering the same questions and they were searching for information I just didn't have or didn't exist. I was to stay under police custody until the case was solved and then expected to spend my teenage years in the orphanage since I didn't have any family that had the means to take me in. They asked if I wanted to go somewhere else but I knew I wanted to stay in Gotham. I didn't really have a home and to me, this place was as good as any and I didn't see any reason to leave. Commissioner Gordon had one last sit down with me where he asked if I would be interested in living with Bruce Wayne. Supposedly Bruce Wayne was in attendance and saw what happened, he came to precinct to offer to pay for all the funeral services and then found out that I was going into the orphanage. He offered to take custody over me for the next five years since he had been through a similar tragedy and really felt for me. The commissioner explained that Bruce's mansion is one of the safest places in Gotham and he was extremely rich and only lived with his butler. I asked him a little bit more and decided that I would much rather live as a little brother to some millionaire then stuck in some lame orphanage.

We signed the papers and allowed him to become my guardian. I never completely viewed him as a father figure because I was 13 and he was 28. It was like inheriting an older brother that I knew nothing about. I thought it was strange for a 28 year old to want to essentially adopt a teenager but figured he genuinely had a soft spot for me and my situation. Personally, I hated the idea of changing my last name from Grayson to Wayne but they convinced me that until Tony Zucco was caught, it was safer for me in case he tried to track me down. I wanted to be a detective so I could go catch him myself and beat him senseless. Before this point I could only see myself in the circus, but now for the first time in my life I strongly considered that maybe I wanted to be a policeman and bring down the murderers in this world.

As I walked out the precinct with Bruce, his butler picked us up in this brand new metallic blue Bentley. It was a long drive to Bruce's mansion and I wasn't in the mood to talk much. I just took in the sights of this strange gothic looking city as I thought about the recent events. Bruce asked me a bunch of questions but I only provided short answers. I didn't mind him talking to me but my mind was just so distracted I couldn't respond with full answers.

We pulled up well after midnight into this three story mansion. After Alfred showed me to my room, I showered and tried to go to bed but I couldn't. I stayed up the whole night disturbed about the recent events and thought about what my parents were thinking, the whereabouts of Tony Zucco, the circus performers, and my new adopted family.

After the first few days I noticed that Bruce had a peculiar schedule that didn't quite fit with my image of a business man. He slept late and didn't go in to work until about 1:00 PM and came back around 4:00 PM. He would talk to me a little bit after he got home but soon he would disappear and I wouldn't see him again for the rest of the night. Sometimes he would go out but usually he would just be in his study. During the week, the only time I did see him was once I got out of school. I expected him to be busy but I couldn't believe how much time I had to spend by myself or just with Alfred. From what Alfred told me, Bruce does most of his work from home and at night and really just goes into Wayne Enterprises for meetings. It was believable but still felt strange to me.

I got along fine in school. Alfred was concerned that since I had been home schooled my whole life that I would struggle making friends but I never really had a problem with that. Bruce sent me to a private school and although it had its fair share of stuck up and snobby kids, most that I met were friendly people. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone that I was Dick Grayson or about my real past so I had to make up a story to cover the truth. I didn't want to make up anything too difficult to remember so I kept the story similar to the real one to make it easier on myself. My story is that my parents died in a car accident and Bruce was a family friend that offered to take me in. Also, since Gotham had a prominent gymnastics program I wanted to come here anyway because I thought I had a real shot of making it into the Olympics. Therefore anytime it was brought up, I could talk about it without thinking too much about consistency and details. I think many of the students would have been welcoming anyway but since I had been through tragedy, many of them really made an extra effort on trying to include me in or invite to parties and stuff. I really appreciated it, and it helped me get through the school day but when I came back home to that huge empty mansion, all those thoughts set in that kept me up all night. I could mask it to those around me well, but I knew I had a built up rage and depression that was eating me.

For an outlet I joined a local gymnastics club to refine my acrobatic skills beyond the trapeze maneuvers. Initially, I just wanted to continue doing more acrobatic gymnastics but joining the club introduced me to the world of artistic gymnastics. Events such as the floor, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars, and high bar really challenged me due to the muscle endurance required. I adapted to the high bar the easiest since the leaping and catching required was much more similar to what I did with the circus, but even that required me to really learn from scratch with all that went into it. The uneven bars was more idealistic for me but it's traditionally a female competition so I couldn't compete in it officially. However, I loved showing up the girls there with my skills on it or just playing on them for my own amusement.

I was the first one there and wished I could have stayed there all night. That gym was more of home to me than the mansion. I certainly would have lived there if I could. I maintained a calm and nice demeanor but inside I was always full of an angry energy. I put it into each workout and each feat and internally exploded when I fell or made any type of mistake. The coach commented that I was the most focused student he had ever seen and had no doubt I could be a collegiate gymnast. I was fueled by negative energy and knew it was going to come out in some way. Gymnastics provided that much needed escape to pour my soul into. At the same time, to call it an escape may not be accurate though considering that it was my way of making my deceased parents proud in my head. It was my way of honoring their memory and continuing the legacy of the Flying Grayson's.

Bruce and Alfred encouraged my love for the gym and came to no surprise for me. Bruce was a workout nut himself and was always doing crossfit training. I had no idea how fit he was at first but after seeing him in tank tops or shirtless, my jaw dropped because he was incredibly ripped. I grew up in the circus where much doesn't shock me but I would have never guessed that this billionaire businessman looked like a pro wrestler under his suits.

Although months had gone by and I was adapting to my new life well, I was still troubled by my parents' death and the fact that Tony Zucco was never caught only made it worse. The murderer of my parents was still out there somewhere and what was I doing about it? Nothing. What can I do about it though? Sure I want to walk through all of Gotham looking for him but he probably wasn't even in Gotham anymore. Not to mention, Gotham has the most notorious criminals in the world and the vigilante Batman running around. This is one city where wandering around some areas is suicide. My school was in the rich side of town and Bruce's mansion was away from everything so I never had to worry about these issues for my own safety but I would venture out in a heartbeat if I could find that damn Tony Zucco. I still felt depressed and helpless as I turned off the television and stared through the table from my couch.

Bruce caught me crying in the living room. He apologized for not being around but I told him that it didn't bother me too much.

I said "If only I said something. I knew it was him. I knew he didn't belong back there." I cried. "I could have stopped him!"

"I know, you keep thinking, if only I had done something differently. If only I could have warned them. This isn't your fault. This isn't our fault. I wish I could tell you that the pain goes away, but it doesn't. You just have to do your best to live with it," Bruce responded.

Afterwards he told me the story about when he was 8 and was walking through an alley with his parents after watching a Zorro movie. The man caught them in the alley and was looking to rob them. The robber ended up shooting both his parents and escaping without ever being identified. In the end he assured me that I will be able to manage the devastation better but it will take time.

A few months went by and I continued to progress well in the gym. I still didn't have the upper body strength to do well in some events but I managed to qualify in the high bar for a regional youth competition. The coach kept reminding me that there was no pressure and to be confident and I almost laughed on the inside thinking to myself, he has no idea about the large audiences I have performed in front of and doing more dangerous feats. At the same time though, this was a competition and did have a different feel to it than simply performing for pure entertainment. Bruce was always busy and missed some of our local shows but he was here for this competition and I was happy that he would finally get to see what I had been into these last few months. I maintained my focus but applied more of a positive energy in my performance. I felt the rush of being in the circus again and suppressed my usual angry feelings when I practice. I made a few minor mistakes but overall I was in my own league in that event. My style stood out because it consisted of a lot of tough aerial maneuvers and less on the more technical skills or balancing feats. I was certainly the crowd favorite but that was to be expected as the aerial maneuvers impress people more than some of the more technical subtle feats performed in gymnastics. The judges knocked me on some of the technical points but I won the competition for my event. My club celebrated with me and I truly felt like they were more excited than I was. I enjoyed it but my goals and dreams were set way bigger than just winning something regional.

Talking to Bruce on the drive back I could see that he was genuinely impressed. He asked me all sorts of questions about the workouts we do and how we learn how to do certain skills. He even wanted me to take him to the gym and teach him some things. The thought sounded funny to me. I couldn't understand why a grown man would all of a sudden want to participate in gymnastics or really learn those skills of balance and dynamics but I figured he was a fitness guy and desired to take his body to its limits. Then Bruce asked a question that ruined my mood in an instant.

"So how bad do you want Tony Zucco?" he asked.

My demeanor immediately shifted and my tone got lower as I was trying to sound tough now, "Real bad" I responded.

"You realize that even if you catch him, you still won't get your parents back. It still won't make that pain go away," he continued.

"I know," I said.

Bruce paused for a moment. I figured he was waiting for me to expand on what I said but there was really nothing else for me to say. Then he tried to cut to the chase.

"I know you have a burning desire to bring Zucco to justice, but let's take a step back from that for a moment. How far would you go to stop a murderer like Zucco even if the victim was a stranger" he asked.

"I don't know" I replied.

He switched the topic but the mood was already ruined. At the time I just really wasn't sure what he was asking me. A few hours later when we got back to his mansion he decided to really get to the point.

"Follow me," he stated without turning to look at me and walking up to the old grandfather clock. He opened it, pulled a handle down and the whole clock moved to the right along the wall. Interesting, he had a secret passage I never knew of. I couldn't imagine what he kept in this secret room and why he was sharing it with me. My mind was racing but mainly I was thinking that it might have been old stuff that his parents had that he kept for safekeeping, or just a saferoom in case of a natural disaster or something like that. There was a long stair well that went underground and looped around the cave wall. The path had sensory lighting so we could always see about 20 steps in front of us and I had no idea how far it was. It looked like something from a scary movie but at this point I really trusted Bruce and wasn't too frightened. Out the corner of my eye I saw something flying through the air and making loud screeching sounds. I looked over and there was a bunch of them flying up.

"Relax, they are just bats," Bruce calmly assured me.

When we got to the bottom I saw how extensive this cave bassment really was. He had a huge computer, a car, all sorts of equipment, a bookcase, random memorabilia, and I had no idea what to make out of it.

Bruce began his monologue, "After my parents murder I became a reclusive loner and never really figured out how to deal with it until two years ago. I finally stopped just thinking about my tragedy and started focusing on the unfortunate events in other good people's lives that were bestowed onto them by criminal activity. I became vengeance. Not for myself, but for all those that couldn't fight back."

He turned around and looked me right in the eye and stated in a serious tone, "I'm batman." My eyes grew, things were really starting to hit me now. This was the infamous vigilante that was putting criminals away but also causing all sorts of ruckus in Gotham. I was in disbelief at first but quickly came to terms with it as he continued.

"This is my third year as batman but I have been less successful with stopping crime. I keep trying to up my game but I'm only one person. The first two years I surprised criminals and instilled a fear in them that allowed me to be a dominant force. Although, I have no problem with the small time crooks, the big players in the criminal underworld are prepared for me now. They keep more lookouts, have better communication, they have contingency plans in case I show up while they are doing a job. If I just had a little bit of help I think I can really turn Gotham around. I don't want to put you in danger or ask you to do anything you are uncomfortable with. I'm simply offering you the chance to make the type of difference that you want to make. I don't want you to turn into me. I decided to adopt you in hopes that you wouldn't turn into me. I know you can keep a secret and think you would be the ideal behind-the-scenes apprentice to make my job easier. You don't have to make your decision now but let me know if you are ready to enter into my world."

I thought about everything he said for a minute. It had been about six months since my parents' death and I wondered how they would feel about me helping out batman. I didn't have to think too hard though. I looked at Bruce and thought about all the people that were going through something similar as me.

"I'm in" I said with a determined tone to match Bruce's.

Afterwards Bruce laid out the rules that I would learn to live by.

"You work with me Dick, you follow the rules. Rule number 1: you give me everything you got. Rule #2: then you give me more. And rule #3, I make the rules."

"Understood," I retorted without really understanding what I was getting into.

At the time Black Mask had risen to be the most powerful boss of the criminal underworld and to keep Batman off his back, he put a million dollar bounty on him which attracted some of the world's greatest assassins. Bruce was in more trouble than he wanted to admit.


End file.
